Blade of Samsara: Book 1
by Vexen Dmitri
Summary: A hundred years ago, the Daemoniums who had ruled over Darmenia with their demonic magical-powered army- were defeated by the power of the human rebels led by the Three Magister Generals and the dark warrior, Kishin and his Dark Blade, Samsara. The miraculous victory had led to the birth of the new guardians of Darmenia; the Magisters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Gathering Hall

_**5th Day of Spring Year 415 A.A -Hundred years after the Daemonium's defeat.**_

The sky over Darmenia was harsh blue and clear, and the sun beats down relentlessly, yet the fresh spring air remained cool under the heat. In the city of Acheron, one the few major cities in Darmenia, the afternoon streets were busy and bustling with both people and vehicles as the citizens carried out their daily activities.

In the lush green garden of Acheron's Magister Academy of Gathaspa, a Young Magister named Anastasia; a sixteen year old girl with an athletic built, was resting under one of the dozen of trees in the garden. Waking up from her nap, she let out a slight yawn, her hand covering her mouth as she did so. Leaning her back against the tree once more, she surveyed the garden. She had noticed that she was the only one left, the garden was completely deserted. There was not a single student except for her were nearby, which left her wondering where had everyone gone off to.

"There you are!" cried a sharp feminine voice.

A face of another girl appeared beside her as she looked to the left, causing the young Anastasia to startle.

"Whoa! What the? Sakura!" she exclaimed at the girl.

Anastasia's roommate, best friend and homework-helper, Sakura had slender and robust body, and a light brown hair with two bunched pigtails. Like her, Sakura wore the purple female student's long-sleeved jacket over her bluish white blouse, with a black mini-skirt and a pair of black stockings covering her legs.

"We've been looking all over for you, Tasia." Sakura said with a frown of a child.

"Huh? We?"

Tasia then heard footsteps approaching Sakura from behind. A lean young boy with a golden side-combed hair was walking towards them. He wore a brown sleeveless shirt underneath his red male student's jacket, and a pair of black trousers. Sakura's frown immediately changed into a gentle smile as he went beside her.

"So you've finally found the lazy bum I see." He said as he shifted his gaze to Tasia.

Sakura giggled. "As always, hiding under her nest." She said, referring to this tree they stood under, as this was the usual place where Tasia took her 'free time' nap.

Still sleepy-eyed, Tasia looked at Sakura and then the boy, and rose an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me that you and Kyro were going on a date today." She said in amusement.

Kyro, a 1st Class Young Magister of Gathaspa Academy, was a well-known and respected student, especially by the Young Magisters from the Marksmanship Course. He was considered as the top Marksman student in the Academy for his skills and uncanny accuracy in shooting. Tasia and Sakura first knew him exactly a year ago during their first year at the Academy. As Tasia had chosen to join the Martial Arts Course, Sakura had joined the Marksmanship Course. The first person in class to greet her and befriended her was none other than Kyro, who at that time was still a 2nd Class Young Magister. On the following day, Sakura had brought him to be introduced to Tasia, and then the three of them started to become good friends.

Since that day, the three of them spent a lot of time together. Kyro had helped Sakura in many ways with her studies, from writing assignments to field exams. Kyro turned out to be a good study partner and guide for her. But there was one thing that Sakura had never told. There is something that she had developed during their long weeks of friendship.

Sakura was in love with Kyro.

One night before the summer holiday, Sakura had explained to Tasia regarding the affection she had for the boy, and asked Tasia for advices regarding the matter. Tasia, who never had any relationships in her live, found the question awkward and difficult to answer.

"Just be honest then. Tell him the truth." Those were the only advices that she could dig out of her head that night.

Even after hearing out Tasia's advice, Sakura still could not tell Kyro about her feelings. The friendship between the two of them had begun to change during the long days of summer. Both Sakura and Kyro were starting to spend more of their time with each other's company. They had gone out for a dinner at the city during the summer holidays, although it was illegal to do so. After the holidays, they had spent more time in the Marksman training hall and even went for a stroll around the garden when there was a chance. Once during the winter, Sakura had dragged Kyro into the female Quarters for a sleepover at her and Tasia's room, which truly made Tasia uncomfortable that evening. Kyro almost got himself caught for trespassing into the girl's dormitories that morning if he hadn't used the window to escape.

Perhaps Sakura's feeling for Kyro was mutual. Or perhaps he only thought of Sakura as a friend.

Tasia smiled when she remembered the incident going on between her two friends. Sakura's face went flushing red, a little loss of words because of Tasia's earlier statement. Tasia looked at Kyro , and noticed that the boy was blushing as well.

Maybe their feelings are really mutual. Tasia shrugged.

"Don't be ridiculous" Kyro mumbled, his cheeks were still red. "You know what day is today, right?"

Tasia gave them a look of confusion. "And what day is today exactly?" she asked.

Sakura's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You totally forgot. Seriously, you forgot about it? Today is the big day." Sakura said in a joyous tone. "Today is the yearly students' Entrance Ceremony."

For the Magister's Gathaspa Academy, today was one of the most important days for the school; The Entrance Ceremony of the new Young Magisters intake. Tasia had totally forgotten about the Entrance Ceremony today. In fact, she had never bothered to remember the date. Since she already had her Entrance Ceremony last year, there was no reason for her to remember the date of the next one.

"Oh really. I didn't even know the school have an Entrance Ceremony." Tasia said sarcastically.

"Come on, Tasia. You know that it is compulsory that all the students and teachers are to be present in the Gathering Hall." Sakura reminded her.

"Actually, I don't. I'm not going, okay?" Tasia leaned back against the tree trunk. "So, go ahead without me, so I can continue my afternoon rest."

Before Tasia could shut her eyes and sleep, Sakura let out a loud, ear-splitting shout.

"YOU'RE GOING AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"Alright, alright. Jeez. Don't shout at me." growled Tasia drowsily. As she hoisted herself up from the soft grassy ground, a 'thud' sound came from under her feet. She looked down, and saw a small, old leather-bound book lying among the grass. On the cover the title was written in a fine handwriting;

History of Darmenia's Rebirth

It was the book Tasia had found in the library yesterday while searching some books for Sakura. From its dusty and nearly torn pages, there was no doubt that the book was decades old. Tasia never liked to read, but she had somehow found the title of the old book interesting, so she decided to borrow it. She was reading this book before falling asleep under the tree.

Picking up the small book from the ground, Tasia carefully stowed it in the pocket under her jacket. She then went to walk beside Sakura and Kyro.

"You haven't finished reading it yet?" asked Sakura.

"I didn't even manage to finish the first part. I'm not much into reading as you do." Tasia replied while complimenting her friend's obsession in reading.

"No wonder you are dull." Kyro added.

"Shut up!" Tasia quickly retorted.

Tasia, Sakura and Kyro stepped into one of the five main entrances of the Gathering Hall. Inside, was a huge circular room, reaching two to three stories high. The hall was filled with wooden chairs arranged in tiers; the rows of chairs were divided into two sides by a single carpeted walkway. The left side were seated by the male students, while the female occupied the right side. Hundreds of Zauberei light crystals hung on the ceiling, giving the majestic chamber a radiant glow.

All the chairs were arranged facing the majestic podium at the end of the hall. An armchair, reminiscent of a throne was placed on the topmost level of the structure; the Archmagister's seat. On the lower level housed the Grand Magister and the High Magisters, complete with eight, less-decorative armchairs for them to sit on, which were given access to by a pair of staircases placed at the podium's sides.

By the time Tasia, Sakura and Kyro arrived at the Gathering Hall, most of the seats were already been occupied by the hundreds of Young Magisters of Gathaspa Academy. Tasia noticed that all of the seats in the first three front rows were completely filled. And all the students sitting in the front rows were unfamiliar to her. She could guess that they were the new intakes; she and Sakura were also seated in the front during their Entrance Ceremony.

Tasia then looked at the podium. Four of the six High Magisters were already present and had already seated themselves on their respective armchairs. On the first seat to the right was High Magister Dante, a heavily build, imposing man with a flat top of brown hair. Being the Sword Arts Specialist, Dante wore a golden breastplate beneath his white long coat.

Seating next to him was the Medic Specialist, High Magister Dezza, a stooped old man with wispy grey of hair and beard on him. Next to him was a woman in her late thirties. She had a curvaceous feature, and a long orange hair, with six small braids reaching to her breasts. She was High Magister Llyr, the Elemental Specialist and the only woman among the High Magisters in Gathaspa Academy.

At the end to the left, was Tasia's very own tutor of Martial Arts. High Magister Grana, was a broad and muscular forty-two year old man, with black, spiky windswept hair. He wore a black, light, loose-fitting martial arts _gi, _which revealed most of his hairy chest. Although muscular, he was smaller comparing the behemoth size of High Magister Dante.

"I'll see you later." Kyro nodded briefly, before making his way to the to the boys' seats.

"Come on, hurry. I don't want us ending up on the back of the seats." Sakura said, as she dragged Tasia to the two empty chairs on the edge of the sixth row of the girls' side. The two of them sat, and waited quietly for the Entrance Ceremony to begin.

After a few minutes, all the seats were completely occupied by the hundreds of Young Magisters. All six of the High Magisters were now present. Then there was a total silent among the crowd, as two men entered the Gathering Hall from the rear entrance.

The first one was none other than Archmagister Gadiell, a tall and broad fifty-six year old man with a slight grey in his brown, braided hair. He had a very long, yet well-kept beard, which was also dyed brown and grey. He wore a simple white robe, which had the Magister's honorary insignia; the five-sided star surrounded by a circle. Although unlike the normal Magister's insignia, the Archmagister's insignia was decorated by two crossed-swords behind it.

Accompanying the old man was Grand Magister Sting, a man in his early thirties. He had a sparkling silver hair that matched perfectly with his charming face. His body was covered in a stark white longcoat decorated with golden linings. There was no emblem on his cloak, just a green gemstone pinned right above where his heart at. He appeared more as a young prince than a Magister, which was why most female students tend to adore him.

The hall remained silent and still as the two highest ranking Magisters walked up the podium. Archmagister Gadiell moved on to his seat on the upper level, as Grand Magister Sting went to sit between the six High Magisters.

Seven of the armchairs on the lower level had been filled, only one remained empty. The one on Grand Magister Sting's right. Tasia wondered why was the occupant of the eight seat wasn't here yet, as he was the third most important person in the Academy.

Suddenly, the middle doors of the main entrances behind the Young Magisters were thrown open. The doors closed again before any of the students could glance backwards.

Then loud clunks of metallic footsteps echoed throughout the hall. All of the Young Magisters shifted their gaze towards the walkway that separated the boys' and girls' seats, but Tasia had already expected what she would be seeing.

To her surprise, the shadowy figure was already beside her when she was about to look around. She felt her blood frozen in ice as she saw the figure in black strode past her.

Dragon Sage Shinkirou, Tasia noted the young man in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Entrance Ceremony

Dragon Sage Shinkirou was a young man in his early twenties. He has a long messy black hair and a sharp venomous pair of slit pupiled eyes. Even though he was young, he had a built of a full grown adult. Shinkirou donned a plain grey shirt and trousers, a cloth waistguard consisting of three long pieces of cloth, each had a symbol of a dragon head engraved on it. Covering most of his body was a long black cape reaching down to his feet, which also had the dragon head motif located on the left shoulder. The only thing that was fancy with his dressing was the shiny black metal gauntlets and boots he wore on his hands and feet.

Another two things that never left his side other than his cloth, was the two katanas; curved, slender, single-edged swords originated from the eastern land of Ryukyu, which he carried on his waist. One had a crimson red scabbard while the other on had a laquered black scabbard.

As his title went, Shinkirou was one of the Dragon Sages, a mysterious group of seven powerful Magisters that sustained the Laws of Magic in Darmenia. Most Dragon Sages have their identities and past backgrounds remained secret, a few of them never even revealed themselves in public. It was also unknown to the world of who their master, the Dragon King was. Rumors said that the Dragon King himself, or itself, was actually a true, living dragon, a huge reptilian creature with outstanding strength. Some also said that the Dragon King was a god-like being who bestowed the Dragon Sages their powerful magic, some even said that the Dragon King created the Dragon Sages himself.

Every one of the three Magister Academies have their own Dragon Sage, who acted as the right-hand and advisor of the Archmagisters, making their title as high as the Grand Magisters. Even the Centurion military force have their own Dragon Sage, Dragon Sage Celestine, whose also the commander of the Centurion 2nd Fleet.

Some people admired the Dragon Sages and looked up to them as heroes. But for Tasia, they were like monsters that mothers told their children before bedtime.

As Dragon Sage Shinkirou was pacing towards the podium, his clunking footsteps were accompanied by gasps and awes of the female students and mutters and sneering from the male students. Nearly all of the girls adored Shinkirou because of his cold expression and cold personality.

"I will never understand why do they love him so much." Tasia sighed.

Sakura chuckled. "Well, he is pretty handsome if you ask me. Sadly for them, he doesn't seem to show interests in any of them."

"I don't think he has interest in anything." Tasia added.

Upon arriving in front of the podium, Shinkirou gave a slight bow to Archmagister Gadiell.

"My apologies for being late, Archmagister." he said in a calm, expressionless voice.

Archmagister Gadiell waved his hand dismissively. "Take your seat, Master Shinkirou."

Without another word, Dragon Sage Shinkirou proceeded to climb up the podium and seated himself on the only empty armchair, right next to Grand Magister Sting.

As all the seats in the Hall have been filled, Archmagister Gadiell rose up from his throne-like armchair. He spreaded his arms towards the crowd of students and began his speech.

"I welcome you all, fellow Magisters of Darmenia."

As Archmagister Gadiell proceeded to his welcoming speech, Grand Magister Sting turned to Shinkirou.

"You're kinda late, Roro." Sting addressed Shinkirou with the nickname that the Grand Magister himself had given. "I haven't seen you since this morning. Where were you though?"

"I was..." Shinkirou paused for a while, and resumed, "...sleeping." he could guess that Sting must've sensed the bluff under his tone.

"Uh-huh. Forgot to set the alarm clock, or you were just drunk last night?" Sting went to take a long sniff on Shinkirou's black cape. He then moved away and shook his head. "Guess not. Smell pretty sober to me."

Five years ago, when Shinkirou was assigned as the Dragon Sage of Gathaspa Academy by Dragon King Bahamut, Sting, who was also recently assigned as the Academy's new Grand Magister, was the first person who had approached Shinkirou and tried to befriend him. At first, Shinkirou had avoided him, as he was not interested in having the happy-go-lucky guy as a friend.

But Sting wasn't a man who would give up so easily. On the following day, Sting had challenged Shinkirou to a Duel in order to persuade the Dragon Sage to go out and drink with him. Although he was still twenty-seven at that time, Sting was still one the strongest Magisters Shinkirou has ever fought against.

Their battles lasted for almost half a day; their equally immense strength would have turned the whole Coliseum into ruins if the judge had not called the battle to an end. Their fight had ended with a draw, but Shinkirou, in respect of Sting's determination and power, had accepted his offer and went out for a drink with him that night. It was during the same evening that Shinkirou received the nickname 'Roro' by Sting. He never found the nickname amusing, and regularly reminded Sting not to call him by that name. Yet, Sting never stopped calling him that, but strangely he never called Shinkirou with his nickname in front of the public.

Shinkirou was never grateful, nor was he upset of having Sting as his only friend here. Sting had considered him as a friend, but he only befriended Sting out of respect and honour for the Grand Magister's strength. He never wanted, and never needed any friends, as the emotions had towards everyone around him were only emptiness. Hollow and blank. Not a slight love or hatred inside his heart.

"Anyway, this year's new intakes seem a lot more than last year, don't you think?" Sting asked as he turned to gaze the crowd if students below him.

Shinkirou followed Sting's gaze. He saw that the first three rows of seats from both the male and female sides were completely filled with more than a hundred of new students, their ages probably ranged from fourteen to sixteen. Observing the new batch of Young Magisters closely, Shinkirou noticed some of them had nervousness registered on their faces, while some even sported proud and egoistic expressions.

Then Shinkirou's attention was drawn towards a female Young Magister, who sat quietly among the bunch of new girl students. She looked like an oddball inside the crowd of female Young Magisters, as of all the students in the Academy, her long straight hair was the only one that was dyed in bright purple. Judging from her petite, yet slender body size and her position as a new student, the girl was probably fourteen or fifteen years old. While the rest of the students had their attention fixed to Archmagister Gadiell, the girl's eyes were looking down on her feet, her face showing passiveness and timidity.

In a strange way, his instincts seemed to find the girl rather unusual, and it was not because of her strange hair colour. Shinkirou could not guess what it was. A corner of his mind whispered to him, telling him that there was something familiar about this young girl. Then suddenly, her dark purple eyes moved up from the floor and locked themselves with Shinkirou's.

Then a strange sensation shot past Shinkirou's head like a bullet. The magical energy within him started to vibrate under the strange presence. Shinkirou's skin slightly twitched. This is the first time in years since he had felt like this. The strong presence of an evil aura.

"What's wrong, Roro?" Sting asked, noticing the troubled look on Shinkirou's face.

Shinkirou slowly shook his head. "It's nothing. It's just a little headache. I'm fine." He bluffed to the Grand Magister.

Without further question, Sting returned his attention to Archmagister Gadiell.

What was that? Shinkirou asked himself, Clearly, that sensation was not normal. He looked again at the purple-haired girl. Her eyes had looked back down on her feet.

Who are you? Shinkirou growled coldly.

Sakura was listening attentively on Archmagister Gadiell's welcoming speech. On the other hand, her friend Tasia seemed to be suffering from it. The girl's eyes were winking slowly every seconds while her head was tilting up and down as she tried to avoid drowsiness.

"Don't fall asleep." scolded Sakura, shoving Tasia's shoulder with hers'.

Tasia let out a short yawn. "He's using the same old speech from last year. Why shouldn't I be?" she retorted in a lowered volume.

"Maybe you should write him a new script for next year's speech, Sakura. That way I won't die of boredom before graduation." Tasia joked.

"I would love to if I don't have to bother myself with your unfinished writing assignments every week." Sakura cursed under her breath.

"Need I remind you, that being a Magister is not to be considered as a gift?!" Archmagister Gadiell's voice boomed inside the Gathering Hall like thunder. "It is in fact, my fellow Magisters, a responsibility that should never be taken lightly!"

"For almost a century, we the Magisters have become a light of hope for Darmenia and its people! For almost a century, people looked up to us as their guardians and peacekeepers. Indeed we are. All of us were bestowed our special abilities by God, to act as the backbone of the human race. It is our duty to maintain the balance in Darmenia, and at the same time, obeying the Laws of Magic that has been established by non-other than the founder of the Magister Academies; The Three Magister Generals."

A holographic image of a huge circle, with three different symbols engraved on it; a red wolf, a white bear, and a brown rhinoceros materialized behind Archmagister Gadiell. It was the official insignia of the Three Magister Generals, with each animal representing one General. The wolf being Gathaspa, the bear was Balthazar, and the rhinoceros was Melchior.

"The Three Magister Generals themselves had played a very important role in the restoration of Darmenia. Not only did they were the founding fathers of magic, but they had also freed this land from the evil clutches of the Dimiourgia Empire. Using their knowledge and power over magic, they defeated Dimiourgia and restored Darmenia back into its peaceful state. We all owe our greatest gratitude for them."

The Archmagister paused for a moment to catch his breath, and resumed. "I understand that most of you have little confidence in this responsibility that you now carry inside you. But rest assure my dear students. By the time the Academy's done with you, all of you will become true fledge Magisters, and are ready to become the next generation of Darmenia's guardians!"

With that Archmagister Gadiell turned to face the Magister Generals' insignia and threw his hands up. "To the Three Magister Generals, we here, are your successors! The Magisters of Darmenia!"

There were thunders of applause from the students while Archmagister Gadiell retreated to his armchair. Too concentrated with the speech earlier, Sakura didn't realise that Tasia had already fallen asleep on her shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Book without a Writer

"I'm feeling sleepy already." Tasia, who was now dressed in a white singlet and a pair of blue shorts, yawned while rubbing her eyes with her fingers. She didn't do much for the day as she only slept and attended the opening ceremony.

"But you were asleep during the whole ceremony." said Sakura, who was working on her writing assignments on the study table next to her bed. Unlike Tasia, she wore a more proper pink silk nightgown. As always, she wore her study glasses while doing them.

Tasia's and Sakura's bedroom was located in the West Quarters of the Female Dormitories. Same as the Male Dormitories, the Female Dormitories consisted of three separate buildings; the North, East and West Quarters. Their room, like most other rooms, was vacant only by two students.

At this time of night, moonlight had spilled through the two small windows of their room. The room seemed warm and welcoming under the glowing Zauberei lamp hanging on the ceiling. The furniture was crafted out of plain wood. Two large cabinets stood against one wall. A door leading to the bathroom was located beside them. Facing the windows were Tasia's and Sakura's beds, both were covered in pink bed sheets. Between their beds was Sakura's study desk. In the middle of the bedroom, a square low table was placed on a soft, blue carpet.

"That was napping. And for your information, napping and sleeping are two different things, mind you." Tasia stated.

"Says the girl who never finished her homework." Sakura added while shaking her head. She then resumed doing her assignments.

"Yeah, and I don't understand why does High Magister Grana give writing assignments for Martial Arts Class." Tasia said in a sarcastic tone.

Tasia laid her head on the pillow, grabbed the book that was left opened beside her and continued reading it. From its contents, the book she had borrowed from the library was more of a journal than a history book. It was quite small, so Tasia had no problem holding it in front of her with one hand, while her other hand rested under her head.

What aroused her curiosity was that the book had no name of the author written on it. She had searched the front and back page, and so far she had read it, there wasn't a single name that was mentioned in the book. Not only that, there was no trace of date or time when did the events written had happened, but judging from the fragile and dusty pages of the book, it might be more than a hundred years old.

There was only one theory that could explain the existence of this journal. It was written before the Fall of Dimiorgia Citadel. It meant that all the events that were written on this journal had occurred before that fateful war.

…It's worse than we had thought. The village was reduced to nothing. Those demons had left no trace of their massacre. They had taken no prisoners with them. It's the most terrible thing that we could imagine. All the villagers had been killed. Not a single survivor remained. The bodies were left burned and rot. The horrible smell of blood and the dead covered the atmosphere of this once-peaceful village.

Those demons had attacked this place and slaughtered everyone for no reason. Why? Was it because we're different from them? Because we're humans? Do we pose a threat to them? They were afraid of us? Only a mere human?

Tasia turned around to the next page, which to her shock, was stained in crimson red dots which she could only consider as dried blood. Even though the book was a hundred year old, the bloodstains seemed to look fresh in Tasia's eyes. She resumed with her reading:

My two brothers and I had buried all the dead in the village. There were more than a hundred casualties here. Men, women, children. Every one of them. Dead. Slaughtered without a single slight of mercy. This was the third village that we've passed through. And like the other two, this one had also become the victim of the black-hided creatures of Dimiourgia. Everything and everyone, was obliterated by these demons.

What about our village? Had those demons reached it as well? It has already been a week since me and my brothers had left. What could've possibly happen to our families during these seven days? Are they safe? Or had they been….?

No. It can't be. I cannot, we cannot bear with this any longer. God. If you're there, please answer our prayers. Humans are now at the brink of extinction because of these black demons. Help us. Somebody. Anybody. Is there anyone who can stood against this monstrosity?

Tasia felt her blood ran cold. This book was in fact no ordinary history book. It was more of a diary than a journal, written by a man, or could be a woman, who had lived during the dark reign of the Dimiourgia Empire. From the writer's words, Tasia guessed that he or she had seen the cruelty of the Empire through the many unnecessary and unreasonable deaths of innocent lives.

Another curious part, was that the writer had referred the Dimiourgia as 'demons', and had said that they were different from the innocent lives they had ruled over. Tasia had never once took interest in history, but she knew that there was never any mention of Darmenia that was once ruled by beings that were 'not human' in characteristics, She only knew that the Empire of Dimiourgia had ruled the old Darmenia with its ruthless power, and was later overthrown by the Three Magister Generals during the Fall of Dimiourgia incident; a war which had cost thousands lives of Magisters, and ended with the restoration of Darmenia's peace.

Who could the writer of this book possibly be, and how much did he or she wrote of Darmenia's 'true' history in this journal? Tasia kept wondering as she read, in all her life she had never felt this curious before.

"I never thought that you actually had interest in reading." Sakura's voice knocked Tasia back into reality.

"Neither did I." Tasia shrugged. "And not to mention that it's history. It's weird, really. I mean, of all the books, I chose to borrow the mysterious one with no author's name on it."

Sakura lifted up her study glasses from her eyes and raised one eyebrow. "So you just borrowed it without reading any of its contents beforehand?"

"Now that you've mentioned it, I really did." Tasia said in sudden realization.

"You're kidding me, right? Then why did you borrow it in the first place? I mean, you're the kind who never shown any interest in reading before this. What's so special about that book that makes you want to read it?" Sakura queried.

Tasia thought of the question for a while, and answered. "To be honest, I don't really know." she then continued reading.

As her eyes scrolled throughout the scribbled writings, Tasia tried to recall her reason for borrowing this journal of a book. A few days ago she was helping Sakura looking for some books for her gunnery and ammunition research. While strolling around the 'History' aisle, Tasia caught her eyes on this small and seemingly fragile book placed between arrangements of old and dusty tomes. Comparing to the other books of histories, this one was definitely smaller and older than any of the rest.

But those were not the reasons why she had borrowed it. Her reason was something else. A reason she had just realized, it was something that is only explainable by her inner conscious.

"It's like, my instincts that told me to borrow this thing. It feels like, this book is talking to me in some way." the words suddenly blurted out of Tasia's lips. She didn't even realized what she had just said. It was as if her mind has been put under a trance.

Tasia looked at Sakura, who was staring back at her wide-eyed. Her mouth was half opened.

"Maybe the book has taken a toll on your head, Tasia." Sakura commented on Tasia's sudden statement.

Tasia only shrugged.

The sky was scorching red like angry boiling lava. The sun was burning the earth like a blast furnace. Not a single trace of cloud can be spotted in the sky. The putrid smell of flesh and blood enflamed her nostrils.

Tasia now stood in the middle of a vast war-torn wasteland. The grounds were covered with thousands of slaughtered corpses, but to her shock, none of them belonged to a human. They were the fallen bodies of black monstrous-like creatures. When she looked closer, Tasia noticed that bright purple liquid were oozing out from the monsters cuts and wounds. She also noted that these monsters corpses had various sizes and forms, yet all of them shared the same metallic black hide and purple blood.

Her mind was flooded with bewilderment and shock. Never once before had Tasia heard, not to mention seen these monsters herself. She tried to approach the corpse that was closest to her, but her legs seemed to be paralyzed with fear under the horrible stench of the dead demons.

Suddenly her eyes were drawn to her left. There she saw dozens of the black monsters corpses had been piled into a small mountain. At the peak of the dark bloody mountain, stood a figure clad entirely in a black metallic armor, which was completely stained by the demons' blood. On his hand, the figure held a glimmering jet-black katana, its blade was engulfed in a veil of dark flames.

Although he appeared to be no different than the fallen creatures that he now stood on, this figure was no monster. He was human. That is, what Tasia's conscious whispered to her.

Just as Tasia was about to observe the black-armored warrior any closer, the piercing red eyes underneath his demonic-looking helmet met with her gaze. Tasia then felt herself losing consciousness, but not before hearing a single word amidst the silence of the battlefield…

Kishin...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

High Magister Grana

"Hyaahhh!"

With all the strength she has, Tasia lifted the boy over her shoulder and flung him through the air. He landed his back against the wooden floor with a loud thud.

"Ouch! Jeez, Tasia! No need to be so rough!" Tasia's training partner, Strauss groaned painfully, his hand was rubbing on his shoulder.

Realizing that she had used too much force on shoulder-throwing Strauss, Tasia nodded apologetically. She then helped Strauss back on his feet.

"Sorry. I got a little carried away there." Tasia said innocently.

"A little? You throw me like as if I was a sack of rice back there. Another throw stronger than that and you'll break my back for sure." Strauss complained.

Although he was a boy and a Martial Arts disciple for that matter, Strauss was skinnier than his other classmates, yet he was slightly muscular comparing to Tasia's female athletic body. This was the reason why High Magister Grana found the boy suitable to be Tasia's training partner. Though Tasia seemed to have no problem with a more muscular partner than Strauss as she could easily defeat five large senior Martial Arts students without even breaking a sweat.

This was proven during her first school day at the Academy. When Tasia first applied for the Martial Arts Class, she was squarely rejected by High Magister Grana, who saw her quite unfit to be in his class, and another reason was because that Tasia was a girl, since the Specialist only accepts boys as his disciples.

However, Tasia still kept on requesting High Magister Grana to accept her as one of his disciples. She told him that she was taught Martial Arts magic by her father since she was a child. High Magister Grana was quite surprised after hearing that Tasia was actually the daughter of one of the most well-known Martial Artist Magister in Darmenia; the Iron Fist, Feng.

Out of his respect for Tasia's father, High Magister Grana had decided to give her a chance to prove herself worthy enough to become his disciple. Her test was to fight five 2nd Young Magisters of the Martial Arts Class at the same time. It was not a difficult feat for her to accomplish. Her physical strength, combat skills and her unique signature magic had amazed Grana when she defeated her opponents with ease. After she had passed her qualification test, Grana had sincerely apologized to Tasia for being completely prejudice towards her, and had admitted that her strength and spirit had proved to him enough that she was a true descendant of Feng the Iron Fist.

Tasia never stopped suppressing a smile every time she remembered that day.

"Sorry. I'm feeling a little stress lately. I'm not sure why but I seem to have a lot of things going on in my mind since yesterday." Tasia said while rubbing her temples.

"You? Stressed? Now that's a first." Strauss's eyebrows rose. "Is it something to do with boys or something?"

"It's nothing like that…It's just…" Tasia paused in hesitation. She couldn't tell Strauss about that strange dream she had last night. He would surely think that she was being hysterical for being depressed because of some nightmare.

But the nightmare she had experienced last night was indeed her first. Tasia had never seen such horrible sights in any of her dreams. It felt almost like everything was real; the heat, the awful stench of corpse, the horde of the dead black creatures, and the warrior in the black armor.

Kishin, the single word that Tasia had remembered hearing from her nightmare. She had no clue of what it actually meant. It could probably be a name, of a person or a place, but of whom and where? Or it could just be a meaningless rant that her brain had made up?

She doesn't believe that the word meant nothing. Surely it must have some kind of a connection with her nightmare.

"Just what?" Strauss asked, breaking Tasia from her thoughts.

"Nothing. Just forget what I said." Tasia shrugged and sighed. She stepped back and offered her right arm to Strauss. "Your turn. Give it all you got if you want to."

Strauss's left hand grabbed Tasia's wrist, while his right hand grabbed hold of her upper arm. In a fluid movement, he spun on his heel and threw Tasia off the ground. The boy had used too much of his strength that he had just accidentally sent her flying a meter away. Tasia crash-landed on her hips with sickening crunch.

"Ouch!" Tasia cried out a painful wheeze.

Strauss quickly ran to Tasia, and went down on his knees. "Sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to overdo it. You told me to give it all I have, so I did. You're not injured are you?"

"No. It's just a little sore. I'll be fine." Tasia groaned as she rubbed her aching buttocks.

"Guess that makes us even, then?" Strauss smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah." Tasia grinned.

Both of them started laughing.

Suddenly three thundering claps came from the center of the _dojo_. All the eighteen students who were practicing their shoulder throws in pair stopped and turned their eyes towards High Magister Grana.

"Gather around, students!"

Sitting cross-legged with their hands resting on their knees, the students now formed three rows of six, facing High Magister Grana as they waited quietly for their Specialist to speak. As always, Grana wore his black canvas _gi_, which differentiated him from the rest of his students who all wear white _gi._

"I'm truly impressed with every one of you. It seems all of you have mastered the basic essences of Martial Arts. You have got all of your stances and techniques right. Well done, my students."

"THANK YOU, LORD GRANA!" the students yelled in unison.

"From that, I believe that you have devoted your training in developing your physical and magical techniques. And I'm very impressed with that. Therefore, I believe that it is finally the time for me to teach you something more advance."

The students looked at each other with curiosity, yet their spirits were heightened by High Magister Grana's words.

"During our class next week, I shall bring you all to the Tacita River, where you will train the Art of the Soaring Feathers!" High Magister Grana verbally punched the air with his voice.

A glint of excitement sparkled in Tasia's eyes, her heart skipped with joy. High Magister Grana would be teaching them a new Martial Arts' magic; the Art of the Soaring Feathers, a form of sub-elemental magic which was said to grant its user the ability to move 'as light as a feather'. People said that whoever mastered this magic, can 'float' and 'soar' in midair. It's a very special form of magic, and a very difficult one to harness as well. It's also one of the few true Martial Arts' magic, just like Tasia's 'signature magic'.

Before any of the students could start talking to one another regarding the wonderful news, High Magister Grana gave out a thunderous voice.

"Silence! This is not a thing that you should get too excited with. You should all know of the intense training that lies ahead of you. For your information, the Art of the Soaring Feathers is a very difficult technique to harness. The path of mastering it is tough and should not be taken lightly. Using this magic without truly mastering it can cause a great damage upon yourselves and others."

"So far, as you all know, only one student from this class had mastered this magic. That is none other than our 1st Class Young Magister Saufer."

Grana pointed his finger towards a seventeen year-old student who sat at the back of the middle row. He was tall and muscular of a boy, whose oval head was covered in short slicked black hair. The fingers of his right hand were drumming noisily against the wooden floor of the _dojo_ while his chin was resting on his left palm.

The boy was Saufer, the one and only 1st Class Young Magister in the Martial Arts Class. He was one of the five top-ranked students in Gathaspa Academy, and as High Magister Grana had stated, the boy had mastered the Art of the Soaring Feathers.

The boy then gave a merry laugh. "Aw, thaannkk yoouuu, Lord Granaa! You're tooo kind" he slurred in a drunken tone.

"You've been drinking before class again, haven't you?" Grana asked him sternly.

One of Saufer's bad habits was the drastic intake of alcohol.

According to the rules of the Magister Academies, it was strictly prohibited for all Young Magisters to consume any forms of liquor, whether they were inside of outside of the Academy's compound. Excessive alcohol can cause many negative effects on a Magister's magical essence. Just by getting drunk, a Magister might render his magical energy unstable, causing serious damage to one's own body, and sometimes to his surroundings.

However, Saufer was given an excuse from the prohibition of alcohol intake, as drinking liquor helped him to increase the capability and effectiveness of his signature magic instead of disrupting it. Tasia had heard the story from Kyro, who had fought against Saufer once. During the middle of his fight against Saufer, the Martial Artist had drunk a bottle of beer he had brought into the Coliseum with him. The intake of alcohol had somehow increased his power and magic, giving Kyro a very difficult time fighting against him. Yet Kyro still managed to defeat him in the end, thanks to the range he had over Saufer with the help of his bow.

"It was just a little siiip. A bottle tooo be exact." Saufer replied before letting out a small hiccup.

With a voice as loud as a fuming volcano, High Magister Grana shouted. "I told you to stop taking drinks before class, didn't I? Do it again and I'll be sure to have the Academy prohibiting you completely from taking any liquor ever again!"

There was no anger in the High Magister's voice, just concern and authority. Still it was enough to cause all of his students to have their hair stand on their ends, even their spines were stiffen. Only Saufer remained unaffected.

"Ay ay, Looord Granaaa. I promise it wooonn't happeeen again." Saufer nodded while flapping his hand towards High Magister Grana.

Tasia watched the drunkard boy in disbelief. He was still calm and cheerful even after High Magister Grana had scolded him. Maybe he was actually too drunk to feel anything.

"You better make sure it wouldn't." Grana said, his mood had already calmed.

After receiving his from High Magister Grana, Saufer turned to look at Tasia. To her surprise, his black raven eyes were staring directly into her, like a serpent gazing on its prey. Tasia had never before made any contact with the boy, let alone communicate with him. But the way he gazed at her was far more meaningful than any conversation could give her. He was still drunk, but his eyes were more sober than ever. Then a thin smile curved across his lips. Tasia could read what he was trying to say.

I can't wait to fight against you.

Tasia turned away and returned her attention to High Magister Grana. She wasn't expecting that from Saufer. If she was to fight him in a one-on-one battle, she would be having a very slim chance of winning. Saufer was the fourth strongest Young Magister in Gathaspa Academy, and she was just, a girl Martial Artist.

A girl Martial Artist.

That's not a small thing, Tasia considered it to herself. Her blood was now boiling with anxiety. Perhaps fighting against Saufer was not such a bad idea. He would be an ideal opponent for her in order to test the limits of her power. Besides, when else could she fight another top-ranked student like him? And what could a mere drunk do against her? Or so she thought.

"As I was saying," Grana scoffed. "Next week we'll all be going to the Tacita River for the Art of the Soaring Feathers' training. It'll be a three days stay, so all of you better pack some clothes for the trip. Again, I would like to remind you, that the path to the Art of the Soaring Feathers will be a difficult one. So prepare yourselves."

High Magister Grana stood up. "Dismiss."

"THANK YOU, LORD GRANA!" the students bowed in unison.

The rest of the Martial Arts students had already left for lunch by the time Tasia had finished changing back to her student's uniform. Just as got out from the changing room, High Magister Grana was waiting outside.

"I saw you practicing with Strauss back there, Anastasia, and I can see that you are distracted in some way. Is there something going on in your mind?" Grana asked in a soft-spoken tone.

"Actually there is, Lord Grana. But I promise I won't be distracted like that again." Tasia nodded humbly, as she understood that her Specialist does not tolerate any form of mind distraction in his class.

"Excuse me, I got to go. Good day, Lord Grana." she bowed to the High Magister, and then she walked slowly towards the exit.

As she walked down the large chamber of the _dojo_, Tasia heard High Magister Grana yelled out.

"Remember, Anastasia! Distraction may led a Magister to his own demise!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hellena

The mess hall of Gathaspa Academy was a large two-storied building. The first floor was filled with dozens of long tables and benches; each of the table was fit for eight students. There were several long beams that supported the mezzanines present on both sides of the mess hall. The floor was made of solid tiles, and so do the mezzanines, while the walls were made from white solid bricks.

At the end of the mess hall was long food counter which occupied most of the wall, and beyond the counter was the huge kitchen that served all of the Academy's rations. Two staircases were built on the left and right of the counter, both lead to the second floor mezzanines.

"Sorry for the wait." Tasia said with an apologetic smile as she seated herself opposite to Sakura and Kyro, who were sitting close to each other. Although each table was supposed to be seated by eight students, this one was only occupied by the three of them.

"You were supposed to be here like, fifteen minutes ago." Sakura said in reply.

"Can't help it. The Martial Arts class just went a little over-time."

Tasia then looked down at the plate that was served in front of her. The delicious smell of the five chicken drumsticks topped with a thick layer of mushroom sauce that wafted through the air had caused Tasia to drool a bit. She took a long sniff at her lunch and exhaled with pleasure.

"Good thing that it's not yet cold." Tasia beamed, while her stomach was already grumbling with hunger. Quickly she picked up one of the chicken drumsticks and hacked into it.

"Thanks, Sakura. I owe you one." said Tasia through a mouthful of meat.

"Actually you owe me twenty Gelds. And to include this week, you owe me a total of eighty Gelds." corrected Sakura.

"That's why I love you Sakura. You're both a good friend and a good piggy bank." Tasia said jokingly. "Don't worry. I'll pay you once I get my allowance next month."

"And what happen to this month's allowance?" Sakura asked furiously.

"I, um, well, I kind of misplaced it, I think. Seriously I forgot where I put it. Sorry." Tasia said with an act of innocence.

Sakura sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead.

"I still don't understand how you deal with her." commented Kyro as he observed Tasia.

"To tell you the truth, I just don't." Sakura growled, and then she continued eating her plate of steamed fish rice. She lifted a spoonful of the white grain into her mouth, chewed slowly and swallowed.

Sakura then looked at Kyro, who was consuming a bowl of fish stew next to her. She was still in disbelief of why he was still here.

Being a 1st Class Young Magister at the Academy, Kyro had been granted the privilege to eat at the mezzanines of the second floor; a special and more comfortable place that was built exclusively for the 1st Class students. Yet he chose to have lunch with Tasia and Sakura instead. Except for Kyro, no other 1st Class Young Magisters had their lunch on the first floor. This was the reason why nobody else wanted to sit on the same table as them, as the juniors believed that they should give their senior Kyro a little bit of privacy.

Sakura questioned herself. Of all the students in the Academy, why did Kyro chose to spend his lunch time with her and Tasia? It's not like he doesn't have any other friends among the 1st Class. In fact, he was really popular with the students, especially with the girls, and he was admired by both his magic skills and his appearance. Even without the charms like that of Grand Magister Sting and High Magister Sephyr, the Alteration Class Specialist, Kyro's look was still enough to attract most of the female students in the Academy, including Sakura.

And still, Kyro chose to befriend Sakura and Tasia and had spent more of his time with them rather than his other friends. Sakura was glad, and she had to admit that she felt lucky to be close to him. There was nothing else that made her happier than to be with Kyro

"Is there something wrong?" Kyro asked in puzzlement, realizing that Sakura was gazing at him for almost two minutes already.

As Kyro turned his face to Sakura, she slightly blushed. Then she giggled after seeing his face was covered in patches of moist brown gravy from the fish stew he was eating.

Sakura removed a white handkerchief from the pocket of her jacket and reached for Kyro's face.

"Let me get that for you." She smiled blissfully.

With the clean handkerchief in her hand, Sakura gently wiped the stains of gravy from Kyro's face. At first the boy only responded with a flushing red cheek, as he was lost for words. After a while he finally held Sakura's hand and gently shoved it away.

"Sorry…" Sakura mumbled nervously, and now it was her who blushed. She slowly pulled her hand out of Kyro's grasp.

The two of them went quiet; their eyes were staring directly to the floor. Both had their hearts throbbing louder and their cheeks flushing red. Then Kyro looked at Sakura and began to speak.

"Thank you…" Kyro took the handkerchief from Sakura and started cleaning off his own face. Once he was done, he returned the handkerchief to Sakura and smiled warmly. "…but I can do it myself. I really appreciate it though."

"Okay." Sakura beamed. The two of them nodded to each other, before returning to their meals. Both of them now wore timid smiles on their faces.

Tasia, who was watching the whole thing from the start, was also smiling from ear to ear. From her point of view, Sakura and Kyro would really make a good couple. Tasia may not be an expert when it comes to relationships, but she believed that her two friends were truly made for each other.

"What's wrong?" asked Sakura with a wide-eyed look when she noticed that Tasia was grinning broadly.

"Oh, it's nothing." Tasia shrugged and then continued biting on her half-eaten drumstick. In a matter of seconds, the chicken's thigh was reduced to nothing but a piece of a bone. Tasia dropped the small bone next to her plate, picked up a second drumstick and hacked into it.

"Hey, Sakura," Tasia called to her friend, her mouth spluttering the chicken's mushroom sauce as she did. "Would you mind cleaning me as well?" she teased while pointing at her own cheek.

Sakura's face reddened once again. "Not funny…" she muttered while puffing her cheeks.

Tasia started to laugh. Even Kyro, who was enjoying his stew, suppressed a chuckle, causing Sakura's embarrassment to grow higher.

"Um…excuse me…"

Tasia's laughter was suddenly cut short when she heard a quiet voice of a girl next to her. She turned to her left. To her surprise, she saw a young girl standing at the corner of their table, her hand was carrying wooden tray with a bowl of porridge on it. Tasia had never seen her face before. She guessed that this girl was one of this year's new intakes. Like the rest of the female students, the girl wore the purple Academy's jacket over her light blue dress, while on the lower part of her body she wore a blue skirt that reached down to her knees. Some of the features of the new student which Tasia found unique were her bright purple shoulder-length hair and the purple set of pupils in her eyes.

"Can I…urm, have a seat…over here?" the girl stammered a nervous and shy kind of tone when she addressed Tasia and her two friends.

Tasia regarded the new student amazement. Before this, there wasn't a single Young Magisters who had asked for a seat with Tasia, Sakura and Kyro. Usually the younger students tend to 'cower' under Kyro's presence and avoid sitting on the same table as him. This new student probably didn't know who Kyro was yet.

"Yeah, sure. Not a problem for us." Sakura said cheerfully. She gestured to the empty space beside Tasia. "You can sit next to Tasia."

"Thank you…"

Slowly the girl made her way across the long bench, placed her tray on the table and sat down half a meter from Tasia's left. She then lifted the spoon on her tray and used it to sip on the porridge.

An awkward silence struck the three friends and their new tablemate. While Sakura and Kyro were looking at each other with puzzlement by the new student's presence, Tasia was still devouring her second drumstick, and later she proceeded to the third.

"I'm Sakura by the way." Sakura introduced herself to the new student, breaking off the silence. She then pointed to Tasia, and then Kyro. "And these two here, are Tasia and Kyro."

Tasia was not surprised by Sakura's sudden introduction, as she was always the friendliest among the three of them. In fact, it was Sakura who had firstly greeted Tasia during their first day as roommates.

"Um…Hi…Nice too meet you…" the girl shyly nodded to the three of them.

Sakura replied with a giggle, while Tasia, who didn't bother to stop eating, gave out a mouthful mumble.

"Likewise" Kyro smiled. "What's your name, miss?"

The girl now answered with a more confident tone, yet there was still a slight timidity in her tone.

"I'm…My name is Hellena."

"Well it's nice to meet you too, Hellena." added Sakura. "Hey Tasia! Why don't say something for once!"

Tasia did not utter a word. After her third drumstick had been licked clean, she finally turned to the new student named Hellena.

"Hi" Tasia greeted half-heartedly, she then took another chicken drumstick and wolfed it down.

"Sorry." Sakura sighed in apology for her roommate's attitude. "She just doesn't like to be disturbed while she is eating."

"I'm very sorry… If you're not comfortable…then I should just…"

Hellena was about to stand up and leave with her tray but Sakura immediately halted her intentions.

"Wait! Hold on! No you're not. Please sit." Sakura said in a jest, pointing Hellena to return to the bench. The student obediently did so.

"Thank you. Sakura…"

"And don't you worry. We're all happy to have you here sitting with us. Right, Tasia?"

Tasia was still busy with her chicken; she didn't reply a single word to Sakura.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and huffed. "Could you at least try to act friendly?" She complained, although Sakura knew that it was futile as Tasia was never happy when someone had disturbed her lunchtime.

"Oh, great. Looks like we have company." Kyro suddenly snarled.

"Keep your head low." he told Hellena, who was still dumbfounded by the situation.

The first floor of the mess had gone silent. The sound of three sets of footsteps became more audible to Tasia's ears. The footsteps were approaching their table. Tasia already knew what was coming their way.

Tasia warily peeked from the corner of her eye. All the Young Magisters were still consuming their food, but their bodies appeared to be stiffened and trembling. Carefully, she turned her head a little to the left, and saw three figures clad in red jackets heading directly for their table from behind her.

Leading the pack was a boy with a spiky dark orange hair, sinister eyes and a malicious grimace that marred his otherwise handsome face. Accompanying him were two other boys who appeared to be at the same age as he was. One boy was as thin as a chopstick, with curly black hair and eyes that were close together, while the other one had a shaved head and was muscular and broad, yet he was nothing compared to the toughly built students of the Swordsmanship and Martial Arts Classes.

_The 1__st__ Class' Elemental Trio._

Tasia's nose cringed at the sight of them. The Elemental Trio was the bane of the Young Magisters of Gathaspa Academy, especially for the younger students. They preferred to bully other students who they see weak and useless simply because they believed that the Academy only needs strong Magisters in its ranks, while the weak should be excommunicated from the school.

The formation of the team was organized under the leadership of the 1st Class Young Magister Seva, the orange-haired boy, and his trusted fellow 1st Class Xander and Hummel. As their team name went, the Elemental Trio were the best three students from the from the Elemental Class, and all three of them were listed on the top ten ranking among the 1st Class Young Magisters in Gathaspa Academy. Even though they excelled in terms of power and skills, they lacked honor and compassion towards others, only showing cruelty to any students they found 'useless' for the school.

"Look who it is, guys." Seva, the leader of the Trio said upon arriving at Tasia's table. "It's the famous sharpshooter Kyro and his two little floozies."

Tasia locked her jaws upon listening to Seva's insult as she tried to control her anger. Her mouth then chewed harder while her teeth gnawed on the chicken. She avoided her eye contact from the three bullies, but kept her ears open for anything that they had to say.

"So did you two serve your Master Kyro well last night, girls?" Xander added the insult.

"Don't you three have something better to do like beating a puppy for a small change?" Kyro sternly interjected them in order to stop them from insulting the girls any further.

"Now Kyro, that's not the way to talk to a fellow elite." Seva chuckled fiendishly. "Oh, and who's this?"

Seva now drew his eyes to Hellena, the girl had stopped eating her porridge and was now pointing her eyes straight to the floor. The bully lowered his body and moved himself closer to Hellena.

"A new student, eh?" Seva said in recognition.

"Is she your new pet, Kyro?" he asked insultingly as her ran his fingers across Hellena's smooth purple hair. The new student let out a strangled yelp when she was touched by him.

"Leave her alone, Seva." warned Kyro.

"Why should I? And what are you going to do about it, huh?" Seva grinned maliciously as his hand was now brushing gently on Hellena's cheek.

Kyro only cursed under his breath in response for the threat that was made on him. Tasia didn't blamed him, as fighting among the Young Magisters were strictly prohibited, except during an official battle in the Coliseum.

"Just like I thought, Seva. He's nothing without his precious little bow." Hummel, the muscular boy chortled.

Xander, the skinny one, laughed at this. "Come on, Kyro. Are you just going to let Seva do something terrible to your new toy?" he directed to Hellena, who was being harassed by the Trio's leader.

"You're quite pretty. What's your name girl?" asked Seva.

Hellena tightened her lips, refusing to answer.

"Not talking? You know that's not the way to act in towards us 1st Class elites." Seva then roughly grabbed Hellena's face, pressing her cheeks between his grasp and pulled her head closer to his.

"Perhaps you still didn't get to the point of who we are exactly, pretty girl. So I'll just let you off with a warning." Seva breathed to her face. "You should look at yourself in the mirror. You might be a Magister, but to this Academy you're nothing than a useless piece of trash. Consider yourself lucky that you are an acquaintance to Kyro, or else I'll be sending you to where you truly belong. A garbage can."

"That's enough, Seva!" Kyro shouted in fury.

Seva looked at Kyro and smirked, he returned his eyes back to the frightened Hellena.

"You should thank your Master Kyro for that, you sorry excuse of a Magister!"

Tasia who was still eating went into shock when Seva roughly shoved Hellena away, throwing the poor girl off the bench. She would've fell face first on the hard tiled floor if her arms hadn't covered her head. She stayed on the floor for a while, sobbing on her palms.

This is too far, Tasia cursed in her thoughts, her blood boiled by the sudden witness of violence.

"Let's go Seva. It's no use wasting time with these weaklings." cackled Xander, who had walked a few meters ahead with Hummel towards the direction of the stairs leading to the mezzanines.

"You're right. I've little time to waste on trashes such as you." Seva spat on Hellena, he then straightened himself up. "You should just leave this academy, little girl. The Academy doesn't need any useless people like…"

Before he could finish what he said, a rock-hard bare fist smashed against his face.


End file.
